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Friday, November 01, 2013

New Zealand Diary - A Wind Farm, Greytown and Martinborough

Sunday, October 13, 2013The Mon Logis will be one of the B and Bs we remember for
breakfast. Our host is French and once owned a café. His homemade croissants are
melt-in-the-mouth good. And he makes a mean omelet. But today we say good bye
to the croissants and begin our trip to Martinborough.

There’s not a whole lot on our schedule for today. Just two
stops. The first is another farm—a wind farm. We arrive as dark clouds look
like they are moving in. There is no lack of wind here and as we exit the car,
it buffets us and makes me even more pleased that I got my hair cut short
before we left. I’d never get the tangles out of longer hair after this.

The parking lot circles one of the windmills. We had gotten
close to a windmill in Australia once but never directly under one. It is
amazing. You can hear the blades cut through the air. Nearly 200 years ago
scientists discovered that they could generate electricity by moving a magnet
inside a coiled wire. While I don’t understand all the science apparently when
the turbine’s blades move in the wind, they turn a shaft that connects with a
magnetic rotor inside the generator at the top of the windmill. The spinning of
the magnets creates electricity.

Each windmill is about 210 feet tall and generates enough
electricity to power 900 homes. They need at least 14 kilometer per hour winds
to turn the blades and each is capable of swiveling 360 degrees to find the
wind direction. This place was chosen for the wind farm because of its constant
winds.

The chilled wind chases me back into the car but I get one
last shot of a string of windmills that the sun has decided to kiss. Bob joins
me shortly. He takes the time to read the signs I’ll read later from the
pictures I’ve taken of them.

I don’t remember when the realization struck us but we
suddenly realized being Sunday, the library at Greytown probably wasn’t open
and that was where we were supposed to get the information for the historical
walk on our itinerary. Seeing the time, we decide to make a stop before in
Masterton before we reach Greytown and get some lunch. In need of a restroom by
that time, we head for the golden arches we see near where we park the car. We
wonder if the beef is any better at McD’s. It’s not. But the sauce tastes the same.

On a short stroll through the town to stretch our legs a
bit, we find several places we should have eaten instead of indulging in fast
food. Offers of homemade soup and some intriguing sandwiches make us promise to
check more carefully next time.

Greytown, a little while later, we find is bustling on this
Sunday afternoon. With plenty of time left in our day, we stop and check out
the information center that is open. They have the same tour that Bob had seen
advertised online at the library. Actually there are two self-guided walks you
can take. One visits historical buildings and the other historical trees. The
lady kindly explains that Greytown played a big part in establishing Arbor Day
in New Zealand and some of the trees originally planted are still standing. She
mentions Ann Arbor as if it is related somehow and says she has relatives
there. We extend our sympathies and try to explain the friendly rivalry between
University of Michigan and the Ohio State University. Sort of like comparing
the two biggest rugby rivals. She doesn’t quite get it until then.

Tucking the guide maps in a back pocket we decide to just
stroll the main street and enjoy the sunny afternoon. The buildings have
character and some remind me of old Wild West towns in America. Greytown was
settled in 1854 and was a planned community set to become the capital city of
the district. Unfortunately severe flooding from the nearby river caused the
railroad to make other plans and Greytown became more a place for orchards and
market gardens. But it did leave Greytown with lovely Victorian buildings that
lent to wonderful renovations in the early 1900s and histories that we enjoy
exploring for a while.

We arrive in Martinborough. It is smaller than I had
imagined. We stop by The Old Manse, our bed and breakfast for the night but
don’t get an answer to the doorbell. We are a bit early so we drive into town.
Town is just a large treed square with a few shops and restaurants surrounding
it. Down the main street, are a few more places including a Wine Center that
has information about the local wineries. This is a big area for wine making.
We visit a few that are still open and stop at one that has a small café and
have a snack. We order chips and aioli dip forgetting that chips here means
fries. We have had more fries this past week and a half than we would have in a
month or more back home. Still, it’s a nice snack, a lovely place to sit
overlooking the grape vineyards and taking in the fresh breeze.

Little did we know that fresh afternoon breeze would turn
into gale force winds by the evening.